Before you rush into such a quest of your own, remember, the remodeling of a vintage home is as big a commitment as starting a new relationship. As Dr. Joy Brown says, “Before moving from one relationship into the next, a person should give her/himself at least a year.” A bathroom remodel requires at least the same amount of time for planning, designing, collecting ideas and items before the actual rebuilding starts.

Let me break what can be an otherwise arduous process down into five easy steps that will keep you, the home owner, in control, keep your design personal and ultimately save you a substantial amount of money.

Step One: Dreaming, Designing and Staying True to the Era of Your Home

When remodeling my 1927 home, I wanted a nostalgic look of the late 1920’s with the convenience of 2003. My design style was Art Deco. I imagined tile, some wood trim, chrome accents and the use of some original knobs and doors. In order to make the job easier I organized a notebook with a batch of plastic protectors and tabs. Armed with the notebook, I began finding magazine pictures and articles with appealing and practical ideas. It is easy to spend a bundle on magazines alone, so I was careful to peruse the articles carefully before investing. I filled the tabbed sections on “storage”, “flooring”, “tubs”, “fixtures”, “lighting”, and” décor” quickly. In addition to magazines and newspaper remodel/restoration articles, whenever visiting homes I found an excuse to visit the bathroom (without my notebook in tow). Fixture, lighting and bathroom showrooms were also helpful to visit while I was considering a sense of space and the lighting “ambiance”. I found some of the most appealing ideas for convenience and beauty when my travels took me to lovely hotels.

Step Two: Getting Professional Design Assistance and Budgeting

Once I had some clear ideas about design or the “look” of the room, I called in a design consultant for a “feasibility study”. In the design consultant, I wanted a person who was creative, practical and experienced. After polling acquaintances, I settled on a consultant and made arrangements to buy three hours of her time. During the first two hours, I wanted her to come to my home, measure the space and sketch some basic floor plans for the placement of the major fixtures. I spent the final hour picking her brain about technical and aesthetic aspects of the state of the art “vintage” bathroom and determined the cost of such a project. Using my notebook collection as a reference and with some specific questions formulated, I learned more with the design consultant in that short amount of time than I could ever have imagined. As the project proceeded, I checked in with her on another critical issue and was charged for less than an hour of her time. As a result of the advice she gave me, I saved more than $300.00.

Step Three: Finding the Builder

The next step was deciding who would carry out my dream. The question became: Do I want someone willing to charge me on a time/materials basis or should I get a company to bid and complete the whole job? Even though I had an idea of costs through my budgeting step, it was important to get some bids for the total cost of the project from companies who wanted to cost out the project from start to finish. (See “Bathroom Remodel Planning Sheet” link below) In the end, I elected to work with a reliable, creative builder who would complete the bathroom on a time/materials basis. He gave me six months to get ready.

Step Four: Collecting Fixtures and Special Touches

With the design in mind and a floor plan on paper, I set out to find the treasures I needed to build my dream bathroom. Collecting accents for the room was an on-going pleasure for me. My favorite and most fruitful sites were the ReStore (A local not-for-profit organization that recycles building materials), area antique stores, Target, Ross, Thiel Plumbing, Hardware Sales, and TJ Maxx. At Home Depot I picked up the moldings, trim for the mirror, the tub surround tiles and the Art Deco-style lighting fixtures that completed the new, yet 1927 look that I was hoping for.

The Pay Off

My one extravagance was an absolutely clear, frameless, glass shower door (the world’s most expensive shower curtain). I wanted the beautiful design of the tiled tub surround to be clearly visible when entering the bathroom.

The last touch was to select a wall color from that period. In stripping some layers of paint from the original door for repainting, I came across a “lamb’s ear” green that may have been the original paint. This color proved to be just right for the room and for the accent colors used as contrasts in towels and wall décor.

This type of project is not for everyone. But for me, remodeling my bathroom has been an adventure filled with left and right brained learning experiences, a treasure hunt, and an opportunity to work with talented people to beautify my home. The ultimate bathroom compliment came recently from a workman, who while measuring for a kitchen project, looked across the hall and said, “That is one killer bathroom!”

Would you like a copy of the Bathroom Remodel Planning Sheet? click here